A Moment in Time: When You Find Yourself in Deep Water

Dear all,

While I was at the pool at our Tel Aviv Hotel, I noticed a sign that is rather ordinary – yet quite profound. While it simply indicated the deep verses shallow ends of the pool, it also served as a metaphor.

This Saturday night, the Jewish world enters Elul, the month preceding Rosh HaShanah (the Jewish New Year). The entire month demands that we soul-search, look at ourselves in the mirror and strive to unload baggage that has weighed us down. We create opportunities to make amends and build bridges, to repair relationships and restore balance.

And while it can take a lot of work, we often find that getting out of deep water often begins by making one small step in the right direction.

What step will you make at this moment in time?

Now, if you feel like you are in so deep that you have no footing to make that step, life-preservers are out there. Reach for them so they guide you toward solid ground. They come in the form of prayers, songs, body movements, study, and rituals. Harness them while you regain your life-balance!

With love and shalom,

Rabbi Zach Shapiro
Temple Akiba of Culver City

Rabbi Zach Shapiro is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Akiba of Culver City, a Reform Jewish Congregation in California. He earned his B.A. in Spanish from Colby College in 1992, and his M.A.H.L. from HUC-JIR in 1996. He was ordained from HUC-JIR – Cincinnati, in 1997. He was appointed to the HUC-JIR Board of Governors in 2018.